Breakfast-with-an-Angel-Mike-Edelhart

Our guest is very active investor Mike Edelhart, who spends ½ his time on the West Coast and isn’t readily accessible to the masses. Here’s your rare chance for a one-on-one, and maybe get his perspective on the startup scene on both coasts. It’ll be a good one and hope you can make it! Breakfast is included, of course, and we always leave time for networking. Register here. (There will also be press there, so try to behave.)

Tech is something of anomaly among industries. Not only because it crosses so many of them, but also because it is so all-embracing and impacts so many facets of our lives. Sometimes, whether we like it/consent, or not. It took a long time before the Industrial Age really took hold and changed the world. Apple and Microsoft came along in the mid ‘70s, but home computers were far from ubiquitous until at least 20 years later. The web didn’t really hit the zeitgeist in any significant way until the mid ‘90s. It being 2014, and since we live in so-called Internet time, it’s a somewhat maturing industry. Or should at least start showing signs of some maturity.

And then things like Whisper and Secret come along, where you can clandestinely say anything about anyone. Gee, who thought that they might be a problem?

We understand the purpose of the apps – to allow people to speak freely, without fear of repercussions – a sentiment expressed by Alexis Ohanian by way of justifying his investment in Secret. But with all due respect, in a world where everything is knowable and publishable, whether it’s true or not, is he kidding? Surely the Reddit founder understands that much, c’est vrai? Surely anyone can see the potential dark side/abuses of the apps.

Pando’s Sarah Lacy published a piece about the untrue rumors flying on Secret (she’s not a subscriber) about her publication – that it’s a potential AOL acquision target. It was too silly to cite, so if you want to read it, it’s easy enough to find. This just in: Fortune confirms that Secret’s anti-bullying system doesn’t work. What is this, high school? Have to agree with GigaOm’s Matthew Ingram here, that no one is forcing anyone to use (the services. One of the comments: “Yes. The app that has all the Silicon Valley technophiles on it will naturally get more tech press coverage, vs. an app that’s all middle schoolers.” Same with on-line bullying.

If the Silicon Valley technorati want to cover bad behavior, they need look no further than to one of their own, but leave it to the New York press to do that: Emails prove Zuckerberg bailed on promise: lawyer. There’s a bona fide lawsuit here, that’s making its way through the courts.

Heaven forfend that one should attack one of Silicon Valley’s Most Hallowed. Someone who steps over the line as often as does Mark Zuckerberg belongs under the microscope, especially in matters of ethics. It doesn’t start – or stop – with Zuckerberg. Let’s not forget the anti-poaching/wage fixing that was also going on and it seems the judge rejected the settlement as being too low. Current behavior aside, only time will tell if these technorati are truly technology’s long-term captains of industry. They certainly aren’t sacred cows and at present, on balance, they behave more like bulls in a china shop. Onward and forward.